Sandy Alderson’s future Mets position players

The Mets are on the verge of contention, and with the mix of veterans and youth on the 40-man roster there could be some playoff baseball in Queens 2015. However, we are not here to discuss 2015-but the future of Queens. Criticism aside, Sandy Alderson has formed an extremely balanced farm system by acquiring players in trades and the MLB draft. While much of these players are pitchers, there are some very high upside players that Alderson sees making an impact someday. Without further ado, here is the lineup (position-by-position) that Alderson has built with fallback options.

Catcher: Travis d’Arnaud

Acquired two years in the famous deal for R.A. Dickey, d’Arnaud has made strides to one day become a top-tier catcher. After looking like the definition of a AAAA player through his first 39 games with a .544 OPS and only 23 hits, he spent about 2 weeks in Las Vegas. For once, what happened in Vegas did not stay there he would go on to spend the next 69 games with a new found confidence and a .805 OPS and a starting job. Unless a trade goes down, d’Arnaud is the going to be the catcher for the Metropolitans for a while.

Fallback: Kevin Plawecki

Drafted in 2012, Plawecki was originally considered to be the catcher of the future. He has not disappointed in that role, as he has a career .295 batting average in the minor leagues and has been a doubles machine. He seems to be a perfect trade piece, but could easily slide into the starting catching role if anything unforseen happens.

First Base: Dominic Smith

Drafted in 2013, Smith seemed to be a stud with an extremely bright future ahead of him. He slashed an impressive .301/.398/.439 in his rookie season back in 2013, but struggled for much of 2014 with a .271/.344/.338 line. That being said, hitting in Savannah, and the South Atlantic League in general, is no easy task- expect big numbers from Smith as he heads to St. Lucie and Binghamton this season. Smith is easily the best first base prospect in the Mets system, and a top prospect in all of baseball. Smith, if he pans out, will playing first base for a long time.

Fallback: Lucas Duda

Once considered to be half of the first base bust, Duda silenced every critic and proved to be heads and shoulders above Ike Davis. As of right now, Duda is the first baseman in Queens and is a household name. That being said, if his performance slips (already knocked on wood don’t worry) and Smith’s turns up, then he will be replaced. However, that doesn’t mean that Duda is written off. If Smith turns out to be a bust, Duda will be manning first base for the long haul.

Second Base: Dilson Herrera/Wilmer Flores

Daniel Murphy is a good player, maybe a great one, but seeing him in a Mets uniform beyond 2015 is extremely unlikely. Flores and Herrera are not actively in a battle for the position, as Herrera needs to prove himself a bit more in AAA, but once Murphy is out of the picture, they will be. They will both be evaluated on how they perform in 2015, and Flores’ fielding will probably not be accounted for at shortstop. At the end of 2015, Alderson and Co. will make the decision on which is trade bait and which is going to stick at the position for the future. In the end, Alderson will have to make the decision of which player he wants: the table setter (Herrera) or the RBI guy (Flores).

Fallback: Dilson Herrera/Wilmer Flores

Explained above.

Shortstop: Amed Rosario

Rosario might be the most intriguing offensive prospect in the entire farm system, with his athletic frame and potential power bat he could be a franchise shortstop. That being said, he might never make it past St. Lucie. There is really not a lot to be said on Rosario, as he has neither impressed nor disappointed thus far. However, 1.75 million dollars as a signing bonus suggests the Mets are invested in this kid.

Fallback: Gavin Cecchini

This kid gets a ton of heat- probably more than any player in the organization. Was Cecchini the right choice back in 2012? Probably not. Since Ruben Tejada seemed like the long-term option on draft day. Even so, Cecchini still has the chance to be a solid player in the major leagues with a solid glove, his ability to walk a bit and not strikeout much. Like it or not, Cecchini still remains Alderson’s backup plan after Rosario.

Third Base: David Wright

When Alderson took his position as the New York Mets general manager back in the fall of 2010, he knew that a choice was lurking: Jose Reyes or David Wright. He chose Wright. To this point, it appears to have been the (w)right decision with Wright turning in two solid seasons and a subpar one while Reyes has done pretty much the same. When it comes down to the wire, Wright is going to be in Queens for his entire career: through good and bad. Unless something unforeseen happens that causes Wright to be moved elsewhere, he is going to play third base for the Mets until he retires.

Fallback: Jhoan Urena

In the extremely unlikely case that Wright is, in fact, moved Urena appears to be the candidate to take his spot. After an impressive three years in the minors thus far, Urena could move up the ranks quite quickly and establish himself as a solid prospect.

Left Field: Michael Conforto

Conforto was drafted June of this year, and has been a complete force since then. Posting wonderful numbers since his signing, he is on track to become the starting leftfielder for the Metropolitans and a future all-star. Conforto seems like the type of player that won’t have much hype around his debut, and then proceed to make 200 straight starts. He is very humble, has great skills, and could one day be the best leftfielder in their history (considering the lack of standouts at the position throughout their history).

Fall-back: Champ Stuart

While spending most of his time in centerfield, the speedster drafted in 2013 appears to be better suited for left considering his arm. There is not much to say, other than he is a back-up option for a guy who is almost a lock to be a great player.

Center Field: Juan Lagares

What a kid, huh? Going into 2013, I did not even know who Lagares was, and now he is my favorite player. Lagares took enormous strides in 2014, including his first Gold Glove and a solid .281 average. He is clearly the centerfielder for the long run and very few Mets fans will dispute this.

Fall-back: None

There is really no leading candidate that can even come close to the potential that Lagares- and even if there was, Lagares isn’t going anywhere.

Right Field: Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo was the first version of Cecchini, getting an extremely high rate of criticism without any production. 2014 was Nimmo’s big season as he posted numbers that will make every fan smile. He struck out 26 fewer times than in 2013 while going to the batters box 78 more times. He wasn’t a complete black hole against left-handed pitching as he produced an OBP .394. Nimmo will probably start the season in AAA Las Vegas and get a call-up midway through the season. Alderson is very confident about this kid, and he should be.

Fall-back: Cesar Puello

Once considered to be the “toolsy” prospect in the organization Puello only put everything together once, and that was the season coming off the Biogenesis scandal. He could still become a fourth outfielder, but with the three other players being as talented as they are, Puello seems to be the odd man out.